– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated The Usos and Breezango to retain their titles
New Day retained in a fairly short match. Xavier Woods sold for a majority of it, then Big E got the win with the Big Ending on Fandango. Tyler Breeze only came in to get superkicked once.
– Rusev defeated Chad Gable
This was a pretty solid match. Rusev got good heel heat and won with the Accolade.
– Luke Harper & The Hype Bros defeated Erick Rowan & The Ascension
It was pretty surprising how over Harper was after not being on TV for so long. The match was fun and had some comedy. Everyone swapped finishers near the end until Harper hit Konnor with the discus lariat to win.
– Sami Zayn defeated Mike Kanellis
This wasn’t anything special. Zayn sold for a while and then won with the Helluva Kick.
After the match, Kanellis got on the mic and said he is fighting for his wife Maria and wants another match to show he is a winner. Sin Cara then came out to answer his challenge.
– Sin Cara defeated Mike Kanellis
Sin Cara won in a minute with a frog splash.
– United States Champion AJ Styles defeated Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, and Tye Dillinger to retain his title
A sign said “Corbin’s hairline has seen the End of Days,” which got his attention and even seemed to get Owens laughing.
The match was really good. Owens and Corbin worked together for a while, then Styles won with the Phenomenal Forearm on Corbin.
– Charlotte Flair, Naomi & Becky Lynch defeated SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya, Lana & Carmella (w/ James Ellsworth)
This was a fun match that the babyface women pretty much dominated to get the crowd back into it after intermission. Charlotte was over huge and submitted Lana with the Figure Eight.
– Bobby Roode defeated Dolph Ziggler
Real good match. It felt like they were prepping for their pay-per-view match next Sunday. Roode kicked out of Ziggler’s big moves and then won with the Glorious DDT.
– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain his title
The Singh Brothers interfered a lot in this one. If Mahal and Nakamura were getting ready for next Sunday, it will be better than the SummerSlam match. Mahal won after the Khallas, then Nakamura destroyed both Singh Brothers and Mahal to send everyone home happy.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated The Usos and Breezango to retain their titles
This was mostly a comedy match with lots of stalling and taunts. There was a huge pop at one point when Tyler Breeze lifted Big E for a suplex after a failed attempt, but New Day retained after hitting the Midnight Hour on one of the Usos.
– Rusev defeated Chad Gable
There were “USA,” “we want Lana,” and “Rusev sucks” chants during this. Rusev was largely in control of it until Gable made a comeback. Gable hit two impressive belly-to-belly suplexes, but Rusev won with a superkick and the Accolade.
– Luke Harper & The Hype Bros defeated Erick Rowan & The Ascension
Harper’s entrance got a huge pop and he got the pin on Viktor after hitting a discus lariat.
– Sami Zayn defeated Mike Kanellis
Zayn got a good reaction, though Kanellis didn’t get much of a response. Maria wasn’t with him there.
The match didn’t have any heat for most of it. Kanellis did lots of headlocks, then Zayn eventually got the crowd going with an arm drag into an armbar. He later took control and hit a tornado DDT and the Helluva Kick for the victory.
Kanellis got on the mic after, screaming “No!” as the crowd shouted “Yes!” He demanded another match and Sin Cara came out.
– Sin Cara defeated Mike Kanellis
Kanellis did a sneak attack to start, but Sin Cara took over and won with a frog splash in about two minutes.
– United States Champion AJ Styles defeated Baron Corbin, Kevin Owens, and Tye Dillinger to retain his title
Owens taunted a Sami Zayn cosplayer and his son in the front row a few times, which was pretty funny. Styles was crazy over.
Styles spent most of the match on the floor while the heels worked over Dillinger in the ring. There was a fun spot later where everyone was down after superkicks and a Pele kick from Styles. The finish came when Styles pinned Corbin after a Phenomenal Forearm. Styles posed with the belt after while Corbin laid in the ring.
– Charlotte Flair, Naomi & Becky Lynch defeated SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya, Lana & Carmella (w/ James Ellsworth)
The crowd was really into this one and Carmella’s screeching got a lot of heat. Charlotte ended up getting the hot tag and running wild on the heels. She got the win for her team by submitting Lana with the Figure Eight.
– Bobby Roode defeated Dolph Ziggler
Ziggler came out to cut a promo before this started. He acted like a face, but then said he doesn’t give a damn about us and that we turned our backs on him. He said he’s the best ever and no one can do what he does. He then claimed he’s the best thing in wrestling, sports entertainment, WWE, and Boise. Roode came out for the match after that.
There were chants for Roode immediately. For the finish, Ziggler went for a superkick until Roode cut him off and won with the Glorious DDT.
– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain his title
The Singhs introduce Mahal before the match and got massive heat. Mahal said Boise is disrespectful and we should respect him. He did his usual promo as a “USA” chant broke out. Before he could speak in Punjabi, Nakamura’s music hit.
There were massive chants for Nakamura. The Singhs attacked him at one point when the referee wasn’t looking. Nakamura later hit a big kick off of the top to set up for the Kinshasa, but the Singhs interfered and Mahal retained with the Khallas.
Date: September 26, 2017 Location: Gila River Arena in Glendale, AZ
The Big Takeaway —
Kevin Owens destroyed Sami Zayn with a powerbomb onto the apron and was about to do worse when Shane McMahon, who was very late to the building, made the save. Owens managed to escape and ran away.
At Hell in a Cell, New Day will defend their tag titles against the Usos in a Hell in a Cell match, AJ Styles will defend the US Title against Baron Corbin, and Bobby Roode will face Dolph Ziggler.
Also, September 26th is officially “Rusev Day.”
Show Recap —
After a recap of the Kevin Owens/Shane McMahon storyline, Owens came out to start the show. Owens said he’s been called a coward for not showing up last week but wondered where Shane was now that he was there in the ring. Owens didn’t think Shane was a coward, he was smart. Owens respected Vince McMahon, so imagine what he would do to someone he doesn’t.
That brought out Sami Zayn, who accused Owens of losing complete control. Zayn figured Owens had snapped but wanted to talk some sense into him. Zayn told Owens he didn’t to think about his family and snap out of it. Owens said he was just fine and claimed Zayn was really out there because Owens has outshined him yet again.
Owens said he’s been Intercontinental champion twice, Universal champion, and won the US Title at WrestleMania while Zayn watched in the back. Owens said he would main event Hell in a Cell and make Shane regret ever bringing him to SmackDown.
Owens wondered what Zayn had ever done in his life, not just his career, that had the impact his head had with Vince’s skull. Zayn said Owens has taken every cheap shot and cut every corner to accomplish what he has. Zayn fired up and said his day will come and he will do things the right way. Zayn called Owens a “giant piece of trash.”
Both guys dropped their mics and Daniel Bryan interrupted. Bryan didn’t know if Shane was going to be here tonight or not and made Owens vs. Zayn for tonight.
They announced a Pride of Bulgaria Celebration featuring Rusev tonight.
Baron Corbin defeated Tye Dillinger via countout
They’ve added lyrics to Corbin’s new theme. AJ Styles came out after the two competitors to join commentary. Corbin was distracted by Styles so Dillinger dumped him out of the ring before the match actually started, then they went to commercial. Besides the entrances and that one spot, nothing else happened since the previous commercial break.
Corbin won by countout in about 3 minutes. There was a dumb spot where Corbin ran at Dillinger, who was leaning against the role post, but Dillinger moved and Corbin crashed into the steel steps. Except, Corbin would’ve missed even if Dillinger hadn’t moved.
Dillinger was in control when Corbin smacked water in Styles’ face at the desk. Styles was about to go after him but Corbin managed to shove Dillinger into Styles and they fell over the announce table. Corbin jumped back in the ring and Dillinger couldn’t beat the ten count.
Afterwards, Corbin challenged Styles to a US title match at HIAC and said he would win without taking any shortcuts. The match was made official after a break. This was a lame match/segment.
Jinder Mahal promo
Mahal said he might have gone too far with his comments last week as the crowd chanted for Nakamura. Mahal said Nakamura was a worthy contender, so he wanted to compliment him this week. This led to more of the same from the last two weeks, with Mahal posting photos of Nakamura as he and the Singhs laughed.
Turns out, the last shot was not a photo. Nakamura was standing in front of the camera and started moving and the crowd cheered. Nakamura let Mahal know he was here, the lights dimmed, and he made his entrance.
The Singhs attacked Nakamura as he made his entrance but he fought them off. Mahal tried to catch him off guard but Nakamura fought back. The Singhs attacked again, but he fought them off once more and gave Mahal a Kinshasa. The heels bailed as Nakamura posed. Nakamura probably received the biggest crowd reaction so far, but that’s saying much with this crowd.
Tom Phillips plugged Zayn vs. Owens tonight by saying it was happening for the first time ever… on SmackDown Live.
The Usos defeated The Hype Bros (2:19)
Last week, the Hype Bros said they had to do something drastic, so challenging the Usos to a match was apparently it. The New Day watched the match from the front row, popcorn in hand.
Mojo Rawley blind-tagged himself in which led to an argument with Zack Ryder. An Uso pushed Rawley into Ryder, who was sitting on the top rope, and Ryder practically fell head-first onto the ring apron, which looked pretty scary.
Usos told New Day they belonged in the crowd with the rest of the chumps and said they would become 5-time champs at HIAC. Big E pulled a microphone out of his popcorn bucket, which was funny. New Day said they didn’t just want to defend the belts at Hell in a Cell, they wanted to do it inside Hell in a Cell. Byron Saxton happened to be on camera when they said this and his reaction was amusing.
Pride of Bulgaria Celebration
Aiden English, wearing a tux, was the master of ceremonies. English introduced Rusev and sang what he claimed was the national anthem of Bulgaria. The mayor of Rusev’s hometown of Plovdiv was in the ring and honoured Rusev by declaring September 26th “Rusev Day” and presented him with a key to the city. He called Rusev their great hero and protector.
Rusev replayed the clip of him beating Randy Orton last week and said he tore the fangs out of the viper. Rusev said Orton was a predator and “legend killer,” but now Rusev is the new predator, and he destroyed the legend of the legend killer. Smackdown was his jungle now.
English sang a song in honour of Rusev Day when Orton suddenly appeared and gave English and Rusev each RKOs. Orton ruined Rusev Day. Rusev actually protected the mayor before taking the RKO.
Here are the lyrics to “Rusev Day” by Aiden English:
Out of nowhere, Rusev struck
Hitting Randy like a truck
It’s Rusev Day, it’s Rusev Day
And with Randy’s nine-second fail
Rusev became the alpha male
It’s Rusev Day, it’s Rusev Day
Backstage, Bryan told Zayn that Shane just landed and was on his way. Bryan figured Shane was going after Owens. Zayn pleaded with Bryan to convince Shane otherwise. Zayn would love to have Owens inside Hell in a Cell and asked Bryan to at least let him have his match with Owens tonight. Bryan said he would talk to Shane.
Orton bumped into Renee Young backstage and asked her to tell Rusev he would see him at Hell in a Cell. He wished Renee a happy Rusev Day.
Charlotte Flair defeated Carmella (w/James Ellsworth) (6:53)
Carmella took most of the match after getting the heat on a distraction, but Charlotte won suddenly with a big boot. Afterwards, Natalya came out and told Charlotte she was happy that Ric Flair was recovering, because now he could watch Charlotte fail.
Tonight’s [corporate sponsor] flashback moment was John Cena’s debut against Kurt Angle. Weird they didn’t save this one for Raw.
The Fashion Files returns next week.
The Undertaker’s dong went off, the lights turned off, and his music played. Dolph Ziggler came out dressed as Taker and a few fans were fooled, at least for a moment. Tom Phillips was fooled as well until Corey Graves told him who it was. Phillips was disappointed. Ziggler mocked the fans for thinking we might actually see Taker twice in one year.
Bobby Roode interrupted. (The crowd cheered before Roode’s music hit because he took his place on the stage before they played his entrance.) Roode called Ziggler an incredible competitor but also a hypocrite. Roode wanted Ziggler to back up his claim as the greatest in-ring performer in history and challenged him to a match at HIAC. The crowd chanted “Yes.”
Ziggler told them to shut up and ran down Roode, saying he was everything that is wrong with WWE. Ziggler accepted the match. Ziggler was about to say Roode would, “rest in peace” but Roode stopped him and said HIAC would be glorious.
Kevin Owens defeated Sami Zayn via referee stoppage (9:04)
They started by punching each other wildly and Owens got the better of the exchange. Owens drove Zayn’s head into the barricade repeatedly but Zayn managed to come back with a couple of clotheslines. With both men down (conveniently), they cut to a door backstage and Shane walked through it. Shane marched through the backstage area and they went to commercial.
During the break, Zayn hit a vertical suplex on the damn ring apron. After the break, Owens nailed a superkick for a nearfall. Zayn came back with a tornado DDT but Owens countered the Helluva kick with another superkick. Zayn then countered a pop-up powerbomb into a blue thunder bomb for a nearfall. Crowd chanted, “This is awesome.”
Zayn hit a flip dive and tried a jumping DDT through the ropes, but Owens nailed yet another superkick. Owens then powerbombed Zayn on the edge of the ring. The referee checked on Zayn and called for the bell.
Medics ran down to help Zayn as Owens took a seat on the announce table to watch. Zayn tried to refuse help, but after he couldn’t walk away, the medics helped him to his feet. As they carried him off, Owens sprang off the table and knocked down Zayn (and the medics).
Owens grabbed a steel chair and wrapped it around Zayn’s head as even more officials tried to stop him. Shane’s music hit and he ran down, but Owens tossed Zayn (still with the chair wrapped around his head) into him. Owens fled through the crowd as Shane dared him to come back. Owens blew Shane a kiss from the crowd.
Final Thoughts —
This wasn’t much of a show, but the main event was really good and Rusev Day is an exciting new holiday.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated The Usos, Breezango, and The Hype Bros to retain their titles
New Day and The Usos were the most over teams. Kofi Kingston pinned one of the Usos.
– Sin Cara (w/ Sin Carito) defeated Mike Kanellis
Maria wasn’t with Mike. Sin Cara got a big hometown pop and came out with his son. Sin Cara won the match with a plancha.
– Sami Zayn, Luke Harper & Chad Gable defeated The Colons & Erick Rowan
The heels got the heat on Gable, Harper got the hot tag, then Zayn hit the Helluva Kick to win.
– Bobby Roode defeated Dolph Ziggler
Ziggler cut the same promo he’s been doing on SmackDown before this match. Roode’s entrance was over with the crowd.
They had the match of the night. It was back and forth, with Roode kicking out of most of Ziggler’s big moves (including a superkick). Roode hit the Glorious DDT to get the win. This got some “This is awesome” chants.
– Randy Orton defeated Rusev in a last man standing match
Orton got the biggest pop on this show. They brawled for a while before Rusev brought out a kendo stick, a chair, and then a table for the finish. Rusev controlled most of the match except for some comebacks by Orton, but he got put through the table and Orton hit an RKO to get the win. This was a good WWE hardcore match.
– Naomi defeated Carmella (w/ James Ellsworth)
There wasn’t much to this and the crowd wasn’t into it. Naomi hit a split-legged moonsault to win.
– United States Champion AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens and Baron Corbin to retain his title
This was mostly a handicap match, with Owens and Corbin working on Styles for most of it until Styles made a comeback. He took out Corbin and then connected with the Phenomenal Forearm on Owens to retain. Styles’ reaction was on the same level as Orton’s.
– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain his title
Mahal got a lot of heat. The match was back and forth, then ended when Mahal hit the Khallas to retain after one of the Singh Brothers distracted Nakamura. All three attacked Nakamura after the match, but he made a comeback and hit the Kinshasa on both Singh Brothers to end the night.
In response to criticism that Jinder Mahal’s promo from SmackDown — where he was scripted to mock Shinsuke Nakamura’s looks and race — has received, WWE issued a statement on the segment to the Washington Post last night.
“Just like many other TV shows or movies, WWE creates programming with fictional personalities that incorporates real world issues and sensitive subjects,” the company said. “As a producer of such TV shows, WWE Corporate is committed to embracing and celebrating individuals from all backgrounds as demonstrated by the diversity of our employees, performers and fans worldwide.”
The promo was the follow-up to a similar segment from the week prior where Mahal tried to prove that the fans will treat Nakamura the same way that they treat him because he also looks and talks differently.
Mahal’s comments this week included telling Nakamura that he always “rooks the same” and saying that the fans call him Mr. Miyagi (from the movie “The Karate Kid”) behind his back, which drew a “That’s too far” chant from the audience. WWE never uploaded a clip of the promo to their YouTube channel.
The statement was a response to some mainstream criticism the segment got, including the story that was being worked on by the Washington Post. The Washington Post article also included quotes from Dave Meltzer, who called the segment embarrassing for WWE and discussed the history of the foreign heel character in pro wrestling.
“Wrestling was always in its own little world,” Meltzer said. “Now everyone watches it, and you can’t get away with those kind of old tricks. The fan base will blame it on the company and not on the heel.”
The SmackDown crew was in Osaka for a show at the Edion Arena today (and some had dinner with members of the NJPW roster while in Japan). The same crew will be joined by John Cena in China on Sunday before flying to Oakland for the Tuesday SmackDown tapings.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated Baron Corbin & Dolph Ziggler to retain their titles
Kofi Kingston, who had been cleared after suffering a minor injury in Hawaii, got the pin on Corbin after New Day hit the Midnight Hour.
– Luke Harper defeated Erick Rowan
Harper won with the discus lariat.
– Aiden English defeated Sami Zayn
English hit a DDT for the finish.
– Randy Orton defeated Rusev in a last man standing match
An RKO through a table got the win for Orton.
– Naomi, Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch (w/ Asuka) defeated SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya, Tamina, Lana & Carmella (w/ James Ellsworth)
Naomi hit the Rear View on Lana for the pin. Asuka and Ellsworth were going at it at the finish.
– United States Champion AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens to retain his title
These two have been working short matches this week, with Styles retaining with the Phenomenal Forearm.
– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain his title
Mahal hit the Khallas for the victory after interference from the Singh Brothers, then Nakamura made a comeback to stand tall after the match.
Reports submitted by readers Reid Shimizu and Derek
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The New Day defeated Baron Corbin & Dolph Ziggler to retain their titles
This started off with some comedy spots, including Ziggler going into the crowd and grabbing a Money in the Bank briefcase from a fan in the front row. New Day then won with the Midnight Hour. Kingston appeared to suffer a knee injury after slipping off the top rope. He limped around but toughed it out to finish the match.
There was a small segment with University of Hawaii head football coach Nick Rolovich and New Day after as they presented quarterback Hunter Hughes with a full scholarship.
– Luke Harper defeated Erick Rowan
Harper hit a suicide dive to the outside, a superplex, and won with the discus lariat.
– Sami Zayn defeated Aiden English
Zayn won with the exploder suplex and Helluva Kick. He was very popular with the fans.
– Randy Orton defeated Rusev in a last man standing match
Orton got the biggest reaction of the show up to this point. It was a very exciting match and had kendo sticks, the ring steps, and a table used. There were multiple chair shots as well. Orton hit an RKO on Rusev to win after sending him through the table.
– Naomi, Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch (w/ Asuka) defeated SmackDown Women’s Champion Natalya, Tamina, Lana & Carmella (w/ James Ellsworth)
Charlotte ran down the heels and introduced Asuka as being in their corner. The heels worked on Charlotte for most of the match, then Naomi got the pin on Lana after hitting the Rear View.
– United States Champion AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens to retain his title
Owens attacked Styles while he was making his entrance for heel heat. There were dueling chants for both in the match, which ended with Styles connecting with the Phenomenal Forearm to retain.
– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain his title
The Singhs introduced Mahal and he tried to do a promo before being interrupted by Nakamura. Nakamura was treated as an unknown in Hawaii last year, but this time he was a crowd favorite. Both wrestlers worked hard and put on a solid main event. Mahal got the pin with the Khallas after the Singhs ran interference.
The Singh Brothers tried to attack Nakamura after, but he fought them off and hit the Kinshasa to send everyone home happy.
SmackDown’s next pay-per-view will be headlined by Shinsuke Nakamura getting another shot at the WWE Championship.
Nakamura defeated Randy Orton in Tuesday night’s number one contender’s main event and will challenge for Jinder Mahal’s title at Hell in a Cell. Nakamura vs. Orton was a first-time meeting between the two, and Nakamura hit the Kinshasa to win the match.
Mahal vs. Nakamura was also the WWE title match at SummerSlam last month. Mahal retained in their first meeting after interference from the Singh Brothers. Their rematch is the first thing officially announced for Hell in a Cell, which will take place at the new Little Caesars Arena in Detroit, Michigan on October 8th.
More of the card should become apparent on next week’s loaded episode of SmackDown. That show will feature the return of Vince McMahon to television to address the situation with Shane McMahon and Kevin Owens, plus SmackDown’s other three titles will all be defended.
A match was made official for Raw’s next PPV on Tuesday night as well, with Enzo Amore defeating Cedric Alexander, Brian Kendrick, Gran Metalik, and Tony Nese in a fatal five-way elimination match on 205 Live. Amore will challenge for Neville’s Cruiserweight title at No Mercy on September 24th.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defeated The New Day and Breezango to retain their titles
Xavier Woods wasn’t here for this one. There was lots of comedy with Fandango and New Day, with Breezango and New Day taking most of the match until The Usos got involved later
It was a pretty good opener. The ending sequence saw Big E throw Kofi Kingston to the floor and wipe out a few guys, Tyler Breeze hit a supermodel kick, Fandango hit the ropes, but then eat a kick to the head by an Uso and get rolled up for the finish. The crowd was really behind New Day, and The Usos played the heels well.
– Aiden English defeated Tye Dillinger
English was getting almost booed out of the building with his singing. He was excellent at milking a reaction as the fans got louder. Dillinger came out and was really over. He held up a 10 sign that English took, but Dillinger kept bringing out playing cards with 10 on them.
This was a pretty long match actually, and the crowd never got tired either. It was a solid back-and-forth match that saw English counter the Tye Breaker with an eye rake and hit a front facelock drop for the win.
– The Hype Bros & Sami Zayn defeated The Ascension & Erick Rowan
The crowd really wanted to see Zayn in the ring, but the heels worked over both Hype Bros before Zayn got a hot tag. Rowan countered a double suplex by the Hype Bros and ended up suplexing them both instead. Zack Ryder hit a Rough Ryder on Konnor, then Zayn hit a Helluva Kick on Viktor for the win.
The Ascension said they weren’t done after that and would fight any man, woman, or child, but that changed to them challenging the biggest man in the back, so Luke Harper came out.
– Luke Harper defeated Konnor
Viktor told Konnor good luck and bailed as Harper hit a clothesline and got a quick pin. Harper got a good amount of cheers from the crowd.
– United States Champion AJ Styles defeated Shinsuke Nakamura and Baron Corbin to retain his title
The reaction Nakamura got was nuts. His entrance, even at a house show, is great. Styles got a huge reaction too. All three guys weren’t in the ring together all that much. Styles and Nakamura squared off and got a big reaction as they traded moves briefly before Corbin put a stop to the fun.
This was a good match as Styles retained with a Phenomenal Forearm on Corbin. As the match went on, the crowd was more behind Styles than Nakamura but booed Corbin loudly. Nakamura and Corbin never hit their finishers
Tamina got zero reaction, though she barely worked the crowd. Natalya was the one interacting more with the crowd, as she got booed quite a bit. Charlotte took out Tamina while Naomi hit the Rear View on Natalya for the win.
– Bobby Roode defeated Dolph Ziggler
Roode’s entrance music was seemingly stopped early as he just posed for the crowd in the ring and then it stopped, which was weird. Ziggler ran down the crowd and pretty much said his promo from two weeks ago on SmackDown verbatim.
The action was super slow for the first half as Ziggler pretty much sucked the energy out of the crowd with rest holds. Roode made his comeback as the crowd slowly picked back up. Ziggler went for a superkick near the finish, but Roode blocked it and hit a spinebuster followed by a Glorious DDT for the win in what turned out to be a decent match.
– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal defeated Randy Orton in a last man standing match to retain his title
During Orton’s entrance, he stopped and made the camera guy show a sign a kid had that said “Kevin Owens is the World’s Worst Wrestler” as Orton smiled and sort of nodded. I really wanted to like this match, but I couldn’t. It didn’t make much sense with the Singhs distracting the referee and Mahal doing rest holds.
They traded throwing each other into the steps, traded kendo stick shots, and traded chair shots to the gut and back. Finally, the end saw the Singhs toss a table in, Mahal grab it to fold out a leg, but it broke clean off. He told them to get another, but there wasn’t one.
Mahal finally set the table up in the corner and eventually got suplexed through it. This was when one of the Singhs distracted the ref while trying to help Mahal up, the other hit a low blow on Orton, and Orton couldn’t get up at the count of 10.
Mahal won and they all put the boots to Orton for about 10 seconds before he threw a Singh out of the ring and hit quick RKOs on Mahal and the other Singh to end the show.
This was a very good match that the crowd was really into. Corbin got great heat and Zayn got a lot of chants, with Zayn winning with the Helluva Kick.
– The Hype Bros defeated Aiden English & Epico
Zack Ryder got the pin after the Hype Ryder. English got tons of heat for his singing.
– Rusev defeated Sin Cara
Sin Cara got a pretty good pop, but Rusev won by submission with the Accolade.
– United States Champion AJ Styles defeated Kevin Owens in a street fight to retain his title
Styles won after a powerbomb through a table.
– Charlotte Flair & Becky Lynch defeated Tamina & Lana
This was Charlotte’s first match back since her father’s health issues. She got the win for her team with the Figure Eight.
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defeated The New Day and Breezango to retain their titles
The Usos won with a roll-up on Big E after he got distracted.
– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) defeated Shinsuke Nakamura to retain his title
Mahal cut his usual promo before the match until he was interrupted by Nakamura’s music. Nakamura got distracted by the Singhs, allowing Mahal to hit the Khallas to retain.
Nakamura fought off both Singhs and beat them down after the match.
Reports submitted by readers Zachary Cutler and Justin Condon
– SmackDown Tag Team Champions The Usos defeated Breezango and The New Day to retain their titles
Most of this was comedy between Breezango and New Day. Kofi Kingston did a dive spot to the outside at one point, but The Usos retained after a barrage of superkicks to New Day.
– Luke Harper & Tye Dillinger defeated Erick Rowan & Aiden English
English got major heat as he sang his way to the ring. The match was well wrestled and everyone worked hard, with the faces picking up the win after a Tye Breaker to English.
– Dolph Ziggler defeated Sin Cara
Both guys seemed to be very motivated in this match as well. Ziggler got a big face reaction from the crowd until he grabbed a mic mid-match and cut a promo berating the audience.
The match was fast-paced out of the gate with a lot of pinning combinations. Ziggler and Sin Cara both got offense in, then Ziggler won with a superkick. This may have been the match of the night.
– United States Champion AJ Styles & Sami Zayn defeated Kevin Owens & Rusev
They had a crisp, safe match. The heels worked over Zayn for a long time, Styles got the hot tag for a comeback, and a Helluva Kick into a Phenomenal Forearm on Owens got the win.
Natalya got a big face pop when she came out, with Carmella and Ellsworth getting plenty of heat. Lynch got worked over for much of this one until Naomi got the hot tag and cleaned house. She hit the Rear View on Carmella for the win. Solid showing for all five wrestlers.
– Shinsuke Nakamura defeated Baron Corbin
Very similar to all of their prior matches. Corbin worked slow and controlled the pace before Nakamura won with a plethora of kicks and the Kinshasa.
– WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (w/ The Singh Brothers) defeated Randy Orton in a last man standing match to retain his title
Mahal cut his basic heel promo before the match, then Orton got the biggest pop of the night. Orton lost due to interference from the Singhs, but he laid them and Mahal out with RKOs after the match.
Baron Corbin’s Money in the Bank briefcase won’t be in play at SummerSlam after all.
Corbin closed tonight’s episode of SmackDown by unsuccessfully cashing in his title shot against Jinder Mahal. The failed cash-in came after Mahal faced John Cena in the main event, with Corbin causing a disqualification as Cena had the match won following an Attitude Adjustment off the second rope.
He hit Cena with the briefcase and began to walk away before turning his attention to a prone Mahal. He cashed in the contract, but Mahal pinned him with a schoolboy to retain after Corbin was briefly distracted by punching Cena off of the apron.
Mahal will defend his WWE Championship against Shinsuke Nakamura at SummerSlam on Sunday, with Corbin also set to face Cena at the pay-per-view.
Cena and Damien Sandow are the only other wrestlers to have cashed in a Money in the Bank briefcase and not won the title.
Corbin won the title shot in the main event of June’s Money in the Bank PPV. Though he lost to Mahal tonight, another storyline of a looming cash-in heading into SummerSlam remains as Carmella still holds her briefcase.
Date: August 15, 2017 Location: Dunkin Donuts Center in Providence, RI
The Big Takeaway —
Baron Corbin cashed in his Money in the Bank contract and lost. John Cena had Jinder Mahal beat in their main event match when Corbin ran in for the DQ. Corbin cashed in on the vulnerable champion but was distracted by Cena and Mahal beat him in seconds with a schoolboy. It was an eventful finish, to say the least.
Show Recap —
They’re pushing the John Cena vs. Jinder Mahal main event pretty hard. JBL said it’s one of the biggest main events in SmackDown history. Tom Phillips also mentioned that today is Independence Day in India.
The Singh Brothers introduced Jinder Mahal. The ring is dressed up for Mahal and India’s Independence Day. Tons of crowd heat. Mahal said these fans had nothing to celebrate, but we can instead celebrate Independence Day for India, the greatest nation in the world. Some dancers performed and they had a woman sing their national anthem as the crowd booed.
She performed the entire anthem uninterrupted and they started dancing again as people booed. Mahal said he expected this reaction and told the fans to expect him to beat John Cena tonight. Mahal claimed he was the reason people from all over the world subscribed to the Network and would destroy Cena worse than Shinsuke Nakamura ever could. He said he would beat Nakamura at SummerSlam.
Nakamura interrupted and got a huge reaction. Nakamura said today was India’s Independence Day, but in Japan, today is a day where they honour those who have fallen in war and pray for peace. He said SummerSlam would be the day Mahal would lose the title and the crowd chanted “Yes.”
Tom Phillips said Ric Flair is resting comfortably but is still in critical condition. All three announcers wished him a speedy recovery.
Natalya defeated Becky Lynch (7:32)
During Lynch’s entrance, they showed three fans standing and cheering for her and they were all wearing Bullet Club shirts. Just as the match was about to start, Naomi entered to join commentary. Lynch hit Natalya with a baseball slide and they went to commercial 75 seconds into the match.
Natalya won clean with the Sharpshooter after Lynch missed a diving leg drop off the top. Good while it lasted. The crowd liked Lynch.
Afterwards, Natalya attacked Lynch and put her in the Sharpshooter again. Naomi jumped in the ring and scared her off. Carmella and James Ellsworth came out. Carmella wished Natalya and Naomi luck on Sunday. Ellsworth pointed at the MITB briefcase and said whoever won on Sunday would lose.
Phillips called Cena vs. Mahal “arguably the most significant main event in SmackDown history.” Pardon me?
Tamina confronted Lana backstage, wondering why she doesn’t have a match tonight. Tamina thought Lana would use her ravishing ambition to get her a match. Lana said Tamina wasn’t ready and people don’t fear her, but if Tamina listens to her, they will. Lana said Tamina could become a destructive force ready to “crush.” This was lame.
The Usos approached Daniel Bryan. Bryan asked if they wanted him as the third member of their rap group. One Uso said yes, the other said no. They wanted to know which members of New Day they were facing at SummerSlam and Bryan said it would be Big E and Xavier Woods. Usos were fine with that but wanted a match with Kofi Kingston and Woods tonight because of what happened last week. Bryan said he would hook them up. Usos went to fist bump him and he grabbed their fists to shake them. This was funny.
Chad Gable defeated Rusev via countout (1:12)
Gable hit an overhead belly-to-belly which got a round of applause. Rusev responded by launching Gable into the steel steps. The referee was counting them out but Rusev ignored and it and tossed Gable over the announce table. The ref called for the bell at the same time, so it could’ve been a DQ, but they didn’t announce anything.
Rusev put Gable in the Accolade on the announce table as the crowd chanted for Randy Orton. Rusev grabbed the mic and spoke one word when Orton suddenly appeared and nailed an RKO. This got a big reaction.
The announcers plugged the Network and I thought Phillips’ head might burst as he loudly listed the reasons to sign up.They also announced that SummerSlam would return to Brooklyn for the fourth straight year in 2018.
AJ Styles came out to a big reaction. He called out Shane McMahon. Shane came out, also to a good reaction, and told Styles he did not need to apologize. Shane said he was made referee because he could take a hit and keep going. Styles told him that the Pele kick last week was an accident.
Despite what Shane just said, Styles asked him if he would use this as an excuse to screw him over. Shane said no, last week was just an accident. Shane did say that if Styles put his hands on him, Shane would do the same. Styles asked if this was a threat. Shane said no. He paused and it seemed like something was up as sweat poured down Shane’s face. Turns out, they were late playing Kevin Owens’ music.
Owens came out. Owens wondered why Styles was getting so upset. He liked that Shane would hit Styles back if something happened and now Styles can’t get himself disqualified. However, Owens did want to mention that if he hit Shane on Sunday, it would just be an accident. Owens said he would win the title back and went to shake Shane’s hand.
Shane said that wouldn’t be appropriate, but said he should shake Styles’ hand instead. Owens offered his hand but Styles didn’t shake it. Owens shoved him. Styles went to punch Owens but he ducked and Styles almost clocked Shane. Shane blocked it, though, and they got into an argument. Owens tried to superkick Styles, but Styles ducked and he nailed Shane. Owens bailed and the crowd loudly chanted for Styles. These guys are all good performers, but this all felt like a very forced set up just to do the spot at the end.
New Day cut a promo before the match. Big E said defeating the Usos at SummerSlam would be a “breeze.” Kingston made sure to make a reference to the New England Patriots.
An Uso pushed Woods off the top and both Usos hit superkicks to Kingston for the pinfall win. Like the women’s match earlier, this was pretty good but short.
They plugged Akira Tozawa’s championship celebration on 205 Live. The SmackDown announcers put over how great his Raw match was.
Fashion Peaks
There’s a picture of fake Razor Ramon and Diesel with “Doppelganger???” written on it. Fandango spoke to someone on the phone and mentioned he was probed by aliens–mentally probed. Tyler Breeze showed up in a blonde wig and tight red shirt and Fandango referred to him as Diana. Breeze said they need to focus on the case before people start to think they’re just making this up as they go along, and they both looked away awkwardly.
Fandango pulled out a rock (“a rock from space, also known as a space rock”) that was left in his back “pocket” when he was (mentally) probed and said it would help them find their attackers. He threw the rock and it hit the Ascension. Konnor and Viktor showed up to return the pie from last week because it was terrible. Fandango sifted through the pie and found a note that read “Two B.” Fandango considered what this meant as they faded to black. A graphic popped up letting us know Breezango would return in 25 years, then it changed to read 2 weeks.
Non-title match: John Cena defeated WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (9:59)
Phillips referred to Cena as a free agent. Cena made his usual comeback after a commercial break, but after the fistdrop, the Singhs pulled Mahal out of the ring. Cena chased Mahal back into the ring but the Singhs grabbed Cena by the leg, allowing Mahal to knock him down. The referee noticed this and tossed the Singhs from ringside. Mahal was distracted so Cena applied the STF but Mahal got a rope break.
Mahal slipped out of an AA attempted, dropped Cena on the top rope and hit a high knee. Cena countered the Khallas and hit the AA but Mahal kicked out. Cena then hit an AA off the middle rope and had the match won but Baron Corbin ran in and broke up the cover for the DQ. Corbin nailed Cena with the briefcase as the crowd buzzed thinking he might cash in.
Corbin began walking away and the crowd booed. Corbin then turned around, walked to the ring and handed in his briefcase. The crowd popped as they announced he was cashing in.
WWE Championship match: Jinder Mahal defeated Baron Corbin (0:06)
The bell rang, Corbin punched Cena off the apron, and Mahal applied a schoolboy for the win in seconds. They made it clear that the cash-in counted. Corbin was pissed. He ripped off his shirt and tossed stuff around ringside.
Final Thoughts —
You could argue they wasted the Money in the Bank contract but it was a mistake putting it on Corbin in the first place, and would’ve been an even bigger mistake to put the title on him. This got them out of that situation and made for an entertaining and unique segment.
My only complaint is I always wanted to see a heel cash in spontaneously and fail, but to a top babyface (like Nakamura). But this put heat on Corbin’s match with Cena at SummerSlam and played into the story that Mahal has been able to escape with his title in every situation.
The build to SummerSlam continued as the Air Canada Centre hosted its second straight night of WWE television on Tuesday.
Jinder Mahal vs. Randy Orton in a non-title grudge match main evented SmackDown, with Rusev coming out after to get revenge on Orton. Naomi was also involved in a non-title match against Carmella, which led to the return of James Ellsworth to TV.
Elsewhere on the show, John Cena was interrupted by Baron Corbin, Shane McMahon addressed his role in the US title match at SummerSlam, and Arn Anderson made an appearance on Fashion Peaks.
Date: August 8, 2017 Location: Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario
The Big Takeaway —
Randy Orton beat Jinder Mahal in the main event in a non-title match but was laid out by Rusev as the show came to a close. James Ellsworth returned to help Carmella defeat Naomi, also non-title. Daniel Bryan announced John Cena vs. Baron Corbin for SummerSlam. Fandango is back, but we still don’t know who attacked him and Tyler Breeze.
Show Recap —
The show started with a dramatic recap of John Cena vs. Shinsuke Nakamura last week, including three different angles of Cena landing on the back of head and neck. They also included the post-show angle involving Baron Corbin attacking Nakamura and getting laid out by Cena.
Cena starts things off tonight. The crowd loudly sang, “John Cena sucks” during his entrance and JBL said he got a tremendous reaction. Cena said he found out last week that Shinsuke Nakamura is afraid of nothing and the crowd chanted for Nakamura. Cena admitted he didn’t know why the crowd used to chant for Nakamura, but now he gets it.
Cena said Nakamura hits hard. Really hard. Cena thought he was on his way to SummerSlam to face Jinder Mahal and become 17-time champion when, suddenly, the referee was raising Nakamura’s hand. (There was a light “Jinder” chant after his name was mentioned.) Cena came to the realization that he lost, which doesn’t happen a lot, but shook Nakamura’s hand out of respect.
Baron Corbin interrupted. He has new music and graphics. Corbin was sick of hearing about the dream match and handshake. Corbin wasn’t happy that Cena got in his business and he had no trouble taking him out. Cena called Corbin a skinny-fat, overrated, dumpster fire and pointed to a sign referring to Corbin as a dumpster fire. The crowd chanted it, too.
Cena challenged him to a fight but Corbin figured there’s no reason as long as he has the briefcase. Corbin said he doesn’t need to beat Cena and told him to shove it.
Daniel Bryan came out next to a huge reaction. Bryan got two words out when he stopped because of the crowd chanting his name. Bryan wasn’t sure if Corbin was a dumpster fire or the future, but put him in a match with Cena at SummerSlam. Cena was excited and the crowd chanted “Yes” as Bryan’s music played. This was a fine opening segment.
The Usos defeated Sami Zayn & Tye Dillinger (6:43)
JBL said the people here in Bizarro Land love the “lovable, neurotic, Sami Zayn.” They went to commercial less than a minute into the match.
Dillinger made a hot tag and ran wild, but was cut off when attempting a suicide dive. Zayn responded by hitting a flip dive to both Usos, and Dillinger followed with a sitout powerbomb on Jey for a nearfall. Jimmy took out Zayn outside the ring with a superkick and made a blind tag. Jey slipped out of a Tye Breaker, kicked Dillinger’s leg, and Jimmy applied a Tequila Sunrise. Dillinger tapped out.
Afterwards, the Usos mocked the New Day and said they would become champs at SummerSlam. Big E came out on the stage to distract the Usos while Kofi Kingston and Xavier Woods attacked them from behind. New Day were about to attack Jimmy with a steel chair but Jey yanked him out of the ring and they bailed.
Renee Young, who got a nice pop from her hometown crowd, interviewed Randy Orton, who got a mixed reaction. Orton said Rusev was in the wrong place at the wrong time, which is a weird thing to say considering his attack was pretty deliberate. Renee asked about his match with Mahal tonight. Orton said the Singh brothers won’t be there and Mahal won’t be able to get away.
Fashion Peaks
Tyler Breeze interviewed the Ascension about his dream last week. Konnor and Viktor got up and left with a pie. They didn’t care what happened to Fandango, they just wanted the free pie. Fandango appeared behind Breeze, wearing an ugly suit that was way too big, and a necktie around his head.
Fandango was zombie-like until he took a sip of coffee, which brought him back to normal. Fandango said aliens kidnapped him. Breeze asked how he escaped and Fandango said he could leave anytime he wanted. He stayed for “anal probes” but then quickly corrected himself, claiming he meant “wardrobes.”
Fandango said the aliens gave him the ability to see into the future. (He was trying to say “clairvoyance” but couldn’t get the word out.) Fandango said the next person who walked through the door was the one who destroyed Tully the horse. Arn Anderson walked in and they asked if he destroyed Tully. Arn said yes, because they should’ve named the horse after him. Arn left with two donuts. To be continued.
They showed Lana speaking with Tamina backstage last week, claiming she wanted to be like her, but more ravishing. Tamina was displeased.
Charlotte Flair defeated Lana (2:24)
Charlotte was toying with Lana until Lana slapped her. Charlotte nailed her with a big boot and applied the Figure Eight for the quick tap-out win. (The crowd chanted “Thank you Lana” during the match, likely because Charlotte’s tights came down briefly when Lana attempted a sunset flip cover.)
Shane McMahon addresses SummerSlam U.S. Title match
Shane McMahon came out to a good reaction. He ran down what happened last week and introduced Kevin Owens and AJ Styles. There were dueling chants for both men and Shane acknowledged the 50/50 split. (Someone in the crowd has a Smash Wrestling sign, and I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them at one of those shows in Toronto.)
Owens apologized for his actions last week. Owens wasn’t worried about Shane screwing him and said we’ve already seen a McMahon screw a legendary Canadian before. The crowd cheered and chanted, “You screwed Bret,” so of course Owens said that other Canadian actually deserved it.
Owens also brought up the history between Shane and Styles and showed the beating Styles gave Shane a few months ago that led to their WrestleMania match. Styles admitted he wasn’t happy either when Shane was announced as referee, but the officiating hasn’t been great lately.
Styles knew that Owens was just trying to manipulate the situation. Styles said if Shane does screw him, he’ll just have to face the repercussions like he did at Mania. Styles told him not to take it personally, he just doesn’t trust anyone, especially a McMahon.
Shane said he doesn’t operate like his other family members. Owens called him out on this and showed a clip of Shane screwing Steve Austin at Survivor Series 1998. Owens said you can find all kinds of examples like this on the WWE Network. Shane said he would call it down the middle unless they gave him a reason to get involved.
Styles admitted Owens wasn’t pinned last week and offered to face Owens right now, without Shane. Owens said he would rather win the US Title in the United States in a city that matters. Styles got in his face and they shoved. Owens gave him a cheap shot, so Styles tried a Pele kick but kicked Shane by accident. Owens left and the crowd chanted, “You screwed Shane.” Shane nodded at Styles like he knew this was just a mistake.
Tamina approached Lana in the locker room to mock her. Lana politely asked her to leave. Tamina said Lana would never wrestle like her. She said Lana got opportunities because of her ambition and now, Lana would help Tamina get hers.
Naomi slapped Carmella out of the ring as the crowd chanted, “We want Ellsworth.” They went to commercial about 40 seconds into the match.
Carmella tried yanking Naomi off the top rope by grabbing the hair so the referee backed her off. With the ref distracted, Ellsworth appeared to push Naomi off the top (it didn’t look like he even touched her, but Naomi fell anyway) and Carmella hit a superkick (this also missed) for the pinfall win. Not good, but at least Ellsworth is back.
Natalya approached Carmella and Ellsworth backstage. Natalya warned them to stay out of her business at SummerSlam or else she would give Carmella a chin like Ellsworth. Ellsworth wished her luck at SummerSlam and said they were counting on her to win. They laughed at her and left.
Shinsuke Nakamura sit-down interview with Renee Young
Nakamura said he wanted to be in WWE his whole career and compete against the best in the world. Renee asked about last week. Nakamura called Cena the measuring stick and the guy in WWE, “But I beat him.” Renee asked about Mahal and the SummerSlam title match. Nakamura called this his destiny. He looked forward to watching Mahal tonight, and at SummerSlam, the Nakamura Dynasty begins. This was good.
Non-title match: Randy Orton defeated WWE Champion Jinder Mahal (11:39)
Orton was all over Mahal, hitting a back drop on the barricade and on the announce table, neither of which was a DQ. Orton began clearing the table as Mahal jumped back in the ring. Orton knocked him back outside and tossed him over the table. Orton tried an RKO through the table but Mahal pushed him off the table and into the barricade.
Mahal is in control after a break. It’s not the majority, but a sizable part of the crowd is chanting for Jinder. Orton hit a superplex off the middle rope for a two count. Orton followed with clotheslines, a fallaway slam, punches in the corner and powerslam for two.
Mahal came back with a high knee for two. Orton responded with a draping DDT and posed for the crowd, who are booing him. Mahal countered an RKO into a schoolboy for a near fall, followed by a kick to the face. Suddenly, Orton countered the camel clutch slam into an RKO for the pinfall win.
Afterwards, Orton posed and walked up the ramp as the show was coming to a close, when Rusev suddenly appeared and superkicked Orton. The show ended almost immediately after that, with Rusev standing tall.
Final Thoughts —
I enjoyed this show up until the main event, which was very ordinary and probably just shouldn’t have happened. If I checked correctly, that was Mahal’s first loss on TV/PPV since becoming number one contender for the WWE Championship back in April.
